How Did John Ronald Tolkien Influenced His Writing

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3rd, 1982 to a pair of fawning parents. Little did they know, that one day, he would grow up to write some of the greatest literary pieces of all time. These pieces would be influenced by his family, childhood experiences, World War I, and more. He was inspired through his experiences at the University of Oxford, both as a student and professor, but most especially through his religion. Tolkien’s stories were influenced by every aspect of his life. Tolkien brought the world stories that would be remembered for centuries to come. His first influences on his writings came from his family life. He grew up with two older brothers, but suffered the losses of his parents at ages four and twelve. His
R. R. Tolkien enlisted in the army after completing his studies at Oxford University. He was 24 years old when he became a part of the British Expeditionary Forces. On July 1st, Tolkien witnessed the gruesome Battle of the Somme (Loconte). On the first day of battle , 19,240 British men were killed. For months, Tolkien worked in the trenches at Somme, corresponding with Britain, helping other men, and working the light signals. In 1917, Tolkien was sent back home in Great Britain because he had procured a typhus-like sickness: trench fever. While recovering, Tolkien wrote down details of the grisly battle that he witnessed. He later used these descriptions in the Hobbit and in the Lord of the Rings series. Tolkien’s literary brilliance and experience covered every aspect of war in his stories. Tolkien described “the relentless artillery bombardment (Loconte),” the potent stench of mustard gas infecting the air, the blasting sounds of guns firing, and the men falling into craters of mud (Loconte). Every shocking detail was covered in the Battle of the Five Armies, which occurs in the Hobbit, and every little battle that Frodo faced on his way to Mordor. Later, in a lecture, Tolkien shared that the Hobbits were based off of the English soldiers because they were small of stature, but brave and heroic “at a pinch (Loconte).” Another creation that was formed from the war was the great “Eye of Sauron.” Tolkien once shared that the Eye of Sauron was representing the hunger for power that lies in all of us. J. R. R. Tolkien wove tales of wizards, hobbits, and a ring based off of many of his life experiences, but I think that the one part of Tolkien’s life that most influenced his stories was his time in the Great War. He used that time of sorrow to tell the world a story of the treachery and bravery on the